Tyre choice for adventure riding? (Mixing road and off-road)

**Zukin** · 24th September 2007, 14:46

Originally Posted by windboy

I tried the sahara's on my friend's dakar and they lack a bit of front control (IMHO). I believe the tread depth isn't quite enough. As for the rear I understand they are great, heaps of grip whilst being quiet.

I've just put a front tkc80 on my dakar and I really liked it. Very grippy and predictable on the gravel. Fine on the seal although I haven't tried on the wet yet. For the rear a sahara may just be the ideal combo... (ask triboy)

later,

Hey

The TKC80's are a great all round tyre, I have done about 5000km and the rear is maybe 1/2 to 3/4 worn, so not bad, the fron is less then 1/2 worn.
But the price

Still happy with them though, and yes you have to watch them on wet roads, especially the slick shiney stuff

But that is like any knobbly type tyre I guess

**K slider** · 23rd November 2007, 19:37

[QUOTE Hi Pete I have just changed my rear Dunlop 606 after 8000 Kms and you know how much spinning my rear wheel gets over Hinakoura. I have stuck an IRC GT 110 or something like that for a dirty trip down south in December so I will see how that wears and grips . My Vee rubber was bloody hard to balance and vibrated me teeth out so it got the heave.sorry this is Pete GS 650 dakar ex sreedway.

Hi pete =pete376403;1201165]I put a Vee Rubber P62 (v208) "Trail Wolf" on the rear wheel of the KLR at 810 Kms. 1430 Km later its down to about 3mm in the centre, after 70/30% sealed / good gravel road. A mate with the same type of tyre on his DR got similar wear rates on the same roads Might try the Mitas tyres next.
Incidentally Mitas used to be known as Barum - who among other things were the tyre supplier for Jawa speedway bikes. That might explain the LMS connection, as Robin Adlington was a top speedway rider both here and in the UK back in the 70s / 80s[/QUOTE]

**Transalper** · 23rd November 2007, 19:49

sorry Kslider, but with all those broken quote tags in there you're not making any sense.

or was this more what you intended.... (I spent some more time trying to decipher.)

Originally Posted by K slider

Originally Posted by pete376403

I put a Vee Rubber P62 (v208) "Trail Wolf" on the rear wheel of the KLR at 810 Kms. 1430 Km later its down to about 3mm in the centre, after 70/30% sealed / good gravel road. A mate with the same type of tyre on his DR got similar wear rates on the same roads Might try the Mitas tyres next.
Incidentally Mitas used to be known as Barum - who among other things were the tyre supplier for Jawa speedway bikes. That might explain the LMS connection, as Robin Adlington was a top speedway rider both here and in the UK back in the 70s / 80s

Hi Pete I have just changed my rear Dunlop 606 after 8000 Kms and you know how much spinning my rear wheel gets over Hinakoura. I have stuck an IRC GT 110 or something like that for a dirty trip down south in December so I will see how that wears and grips . My Vee rubber was bloody hard to balance and vibrated me teeth out so it got the heave.sorry this is Pete GS 650 dakar ex sreedway.

It's all down to being careful not to type over or between the [ and ] with the word quote in them.

**pete376403** · 23rd November 2007, 19:57

Originally Posted by RedKLR650

Hi Pete,

As your KLR was brand new

, why change the OEM tyre at only 810kms ?

What was the tyre that came standard with the bike ?

Curious, Stu

Another thread back from the grave...
The original tyre on the killer was a Dunlop K750. Really good on the road but marginal on any dirt other than hard pack. As we had a long weekend ride that included much off road, I went for the Vee Rubber thinking it was going to be better. It did give reasonably good grip, but at the expense of life. The K750 is still in the shed, and in near as new condition. Will put it back on if I go for any long road-only tours. Currently on the back is a Michelin Sirac, which was bought for possibly the worst possible reason - it was cheap.
In spite of that it's proving very good so far.

**RedKLR650** · 23rd November 2007, 20:12

Originally Posted by pete376403

Another thread back from the grave...
The original tyre on the killer was a Dunlop K750. Really good on the road but marginal on any dirt other than hard pack. As we had a long weekend ride that included much off road, I went for the Vee Rubber thinking it was going to be better. It did give reasonably good grip, but at the expense of life. The K750 is still in the shed, and in near as new condition. Will put it back on if I go for any long road-only tours. Currently on the back is a Michelin Sirac, which was bought for possibly the worst possible reason - it was cheap.
In spite of that it's proving very good so far.

Personally I've had great luck with the IRC GP 110 rear, but due to all of the ones pushing Mitas on here, am going to try a new Mitas on my spare rear rim, and another IRC 110 on the other, and will record distances and types of road surfaces covered, so lookout for a report in the upcoming months...

Cheers, Stu

**tri boy** · 27th November 2007, 10:25

Finally I've found some time to change out the Metz Sahara3 from the rear of the Scrambler. 70% worn, and I'm only changing it now, as the WWW ride will be a good one to try the Mitas E-07 on.
6000km on the Sahara which probably ended up being 50/50 seal/gravel, with a bit of paddock/soft loam runs.
Definitely a tyre that I would fit again. Handled gravel well, and the carcass seems robust enough not to worry about punctures too often.
Pressures ranged from 20psi-30psi. The triumph was often quite loaded, and its dry weight of 220kg isn't easy on tyres either.
Will post some comparison shots of the Trail Wing/ Sahara soon. Will be interesting to see how the E-07 goes.

**Transalper** · 27th November 2007, 11:02

Originally Posted by tri boy

...The triumph was often quite loaded, and its dry weight of 220kg isn't easy on tyres either.
..... Will be interesting to see how the E-07 goes.

We await your opinion with interest. I run my E07 from 26psi Front 29si Rear Seal to 20 psi F 22 psi R on shingle and go lower if it turns gooey.
My bike is far lighter than yours, so was the Transalp.

**NordieBoy** · 27th November 2007, 15:54

I ran 32f/36r seal on my E-07's without any issues grip wise and they lasted well.

**tri boy** · 27th November 2007, 16:48

Couple of pics to compare wear rate between the Trail Wing (left), and the Sahara.
Both are down to 2.4mm in the centre, the TW was changed at 5000km, and the Metz at 6000km.
The metz got a harder life, as I got more adventurous, and is also the better gravel tyre, but as you can see, the wear is similar for kms traveled.
Class dismissed....except for you Mary, I have some special "Learning" for you.

Original thread depth was 8mm I think, so both were wearing at approx 1mm/1000km.
And No, you can't have them. They are to become tarmac run outs, or burnout tyres.

**tri boy** · 2nd December 2007, 18:29

Put about 500km on the new E-07 while on the WWW ride. First impressions are:
A pretty good all round tyre. Sealed road holding quite impressive, (running at 34psi, and 30psi), although its let down by its tendancy to "break traction" easily on a down shift that the Metz Sahara would of easily handled.
Like wise, it can not "hook up" on gravel under accel any where near as well as the Sahara. gravel pressures were between 20-25psi, (the side wall flex was starting to show its hand at 20)
It does seem to be slightly noisier than the Metz, but this is irrelevant on a M/Cycle with closed circuit mufflers.
High speed on seal weaving can be felt, but this isn't anus puckering to any extent, just not as stable as the Sahara, or even the standard Trail Wings.

Wear rate should be better than both of the previous mentioned tyres, and this is where the decision needs to be made.Do I want/need a better all round tyre like the Metz, (and pay extra for it), or will the Mitas win me over with its pricing.......hmmmm, at this stage I think I will probably lean towards the Metz. That is after I wear the E-07 out, and then fit and try the E-09 thats waiting in the shed.

**nigelp** · 2nd December 2007, 18:56

I have just swapped over from a Trailwing which I didnt really rate that highly to Mitas EO-7. Will be interested to see how this holds up, my trail wing rear lasted 5500kms, so not that long! I hear rumours of 10,000+ on the EO-7 so time will tell!

Was the first time I have changes a "big bike" tyre myself. Wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be and took me around 1.5hrs.

**Transalper** · 2nd December 2007, 19:48

Originally Posted by tri boy

Put about 500km on the new E-07 while on the WWW ride. First impressions are:....
....
...Do I want/need a better all round tyre like the Metz, (and pay extra for it), or will the Mitas win me over with its pricing.......hmmmm, at this stage I think I will probably lean towards the Metz. That is after I wear the E-07 out, and then fit and try the E-09 thats waiting in the shed.

Good read, nice and objective, thanks.
Now hurry up and wear them out, I want to hear about the E09s on the Trumpy.
Could you remind us what tyre sizes you are using.
The Transalp I had was a 21inch front and 17inch rear I think. The DR650 is same.

**tri boy** · 2nd December 2007, 20:03

Running a 110/80-19 TKC80 up front. (very happy with the Conti).
And 130/80-17 on the rear.
It will be a highly positive write from someone to convince to use anything other than the TKC up front. But at some stage I'll refit the old front Trail Wing for mainly tarmac trips.
I also have plans to slip a set of Bridgestone BT45's on, and wobble my way round the occasional trackday. I think the Scrambler could surprise a few, with a decent rider on board. (thats not me)

**cooneyr** · 2nd December 2007, 20:50

Originally Posted by tri boy

Running a 110/80-19 TKC80 up front. (very happy with the Conti).
And 130/80-17 on the rear.
It will be a highly positive write from someone to convince to use anything other than the TKC up front. But at some stage I'll refit the old front Trail Wing for mainly tarmac trips.
I also have plans to slip a set of Bridgestone BT45's on, and wobble my way round the occasional trackday. I think the Scrambler could surprise a few, with a decent rider on board. (thats not me)

You might like to check out ThunderBikes trumpy scrambler that they race at the Nelson Port street races. From memory they'd worked it to put out around 90hp. I don't know how well it actually did.

Cheers R

**warewolf** · 2nd December 2007, 22:06

Originally Posted by cooneyr

You might like to check out ThunderBikes trumpy scrambler that they race at the Nelson Port street races. From memory they'd worked it to put out around 90hp.

84rwhp IIRC, up from high-50s std. But that's with cams, carbs, pipes etc, "Stage 2" setup. The footrests took a beating, ground clearance was very much a limiting factor after the power-to-weight. They also raced it at Greymouth last year (in the motard class?!) and at a Bears meet at Ruapuna on the Brass Monkey weekend.